Tag: Fashion

Some of you may have noticed that my archive of articles on Victorian fashion and beauty has recently become a bit thinner. I know that many of those articles—specifically my Victorian Lady’s Guides and my Visual Guides to Victorian Fashion series—were incredibly popular, so I thought I’d take a brief moment to explain what has happened to them.[…]Continue Reading

“The Easter bonnet has long been recognized as woman’s particular weakness.”
The Illustrated American, 1886.

Spring Bonnets, Der Bazar, 1882.
(Met Museum)

In the nineteenth century, Easter Sunday was an occasion for ladies of all classes to don their most fashionable bonnets. Some of these bonnets were specially bought for the holiday. Others were old bonnets made up with new trimmings. In either circumstance, Easter bonnets were as essential to celebrating Easter as were eggs and bunnies. An 1889 edition of the Ladies Home Journal even went so far as to declare that it was “an accepted fact that every woman who can buy or make a dainty bonnet for Easter-day must wear it.”[…]Continue Reading

During the nineteenth century, blue was considered a versatile color, as suitable for elegant evening gowns and demure day dresses as it was for fashionable bonnets, slippers, and parasols. In shades ranging from the palest cerulean blue to the deepest navy, it adorned women of every age and every station, harmonizing with a wide range of hair colors and complexions. In today’s article, we look at some of the loveliest examples of the color blue in Victorian fashion.[…]Continue Reading

Just before midnight on June 25, 1891, a police detective encountered two women strolling arm-in-arm down Regent Street. One of the women struck him as being rather odd in appearance. He approached to investigate, but when he attempted to raise the heavy black veil on the lady’s hat, she firmly knocked his hand away. It was then that the detective realized that the lady was, in fact, a very elderly gentleman in women’s clothes. He promptly arrested him.[…]Continue Reading

During the Victorian era, yellow was believed to be the color most similar to light. With shades ranging from the palest butter to the liveliest lemon, it was suitable for morning dresses, day dresses, evening gowns, and seaside wear. Fashion magazines and color experts of the day recommended restricting clear, bright yellows to spring and summer. However, shades of yellow could be seen in fashionable dress throughout the year, often in the form of gloves, a decorative fan, a frilly parasol, or a stylish hat. In today’s article, we look at some of the loveliest examples of the color yellow in Victorian fashion.[…]Continue Reading